Combination play pen and carrousel



Aug. 16; 1955 w. OLSEN COMBINATION PLAY PEN AND CARROUSEL Filed Oct. 16, 1952 is s 7 4 INVENTOR. f WZLLZHM 01:55

JTTOR/WE) United States Patent Ofilice 2,715,530 Patented Aug. 16, 1955 COMBINATEON PLAY PEN AND CARROUSEL William Olsen, Miami, Fla.

Application Gctoher 16, 1952, Serial No. 315,096

2 Claims. (Cl. 272-43) This invention relates to carrousels and more particularly to a carrousel which is operable by the user.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a carrousel including, generally, a base, a pen rotatively mounted on the base, operative mechanism within the base for rotating the pen, and actuating means within the pen for efiecting operation of the mechanism.

It is another object of the present invention to pro vide a carrousel which serves as a play pen for small children.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a carrousel for a small child which may be operated by the user.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a spring operated carrousel.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a carrousel which upon rotation thereof automatically plays a series of melodious tones.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a carrousel which is completely safe for the use of a small child.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a spring actuated carrousel having a winding means, which when in operative position, will rotate in one direction only, and when in inoperative position will turn only in the opposite direction.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a carrousel which is simple, durable and safe, which is effective for its intended purposes, and which can be manufactured and sold at a reasonable cost.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a device constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial elevational sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the operating mechanism of the device of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral represents generally a carrousel having a base 11, a pen 12, a canopy 13 and an actuating means 14.

The base 11, as shown in Fig. 2, includes a bottom wall 15, which is adapted to rest upon a horizontal supporting surface (not shown). On the bottom wall 15 and extending thereabout are side walls 16, and resting upon the side walls is a top wall 17. The walls 15, 16 and 17, combining to form the hollow base 11, may be fabricated of wood, metal or plastic and may be secured together by any suitable means. The top wall 17 is provided with a central aperture 18 and spaced apertures 19 for purposes to be described hereinafter.

Within the base 11 mounted on the bottom wall 15 is a thrust bearing 20 which rotatively supports one end of the vertically disposed shaft 21. The shaft 21 extends upwardly through the opening 18 out of the base 11 and is formed adjacent its upper end with longitudinally extending flat surfaces 22 and 23. Fixedly mounted on shaft 21 within the base 11 is a horizontallydisposed spur gear 25. In meshing engagement with the gear 25 is a pinion 26 which is mounted on the vertically disposed shaft 27, the latter being rotatively mounted on the journal bearing 28 and 29. Circum posed about the shaft 27 and having its inner end fixedly secured thereto, is a spiral spring 30. The spiral spring 38 has its outer end fixedly secured to the base side wall 16 by rivets 31 or other suitable securing means.

Another vertically disposed shaft 35 has its upper and lower end supported in the brackets 36 and 37, respectively, which brackets are mounted on the upper and lower walls of the base 11. Slidably and rotatively mounted on the shaft 35 is a spur gear 38 having its teeth in meshing engagement with the teeth of gear 25. The teeth 39 of gear 38 are substantially wider than the teeth of gear 25 to provide for continuous meshing engagement between said teeth when the gear 33 is shifted vertically. Extending downwardly from gear 38 is a collar 41) which surrounds shaft 35 and is provided with ratchet teeth 41 adjacent its lower end. Rotatively mounted on shaft 35 below gear 38 is another spur gear 42. The under face of gear 42 is provided with a shoulder 43 which rests upon the bracket 37. Extending upwardly from the gear 42 and surrounding the shaft 35 is a neck 44 having ratchet teeth 45. The ratchet teeth 45 are inter-engageable with the ratchet teeth 41 and permit rotation of the gear 38 only in one direction relative to the gear 42. Rotation of the gear 38 is restrained in the other direction by interlocking of the teeth 41 and 45.

Thus, rotation of the gear 25, as indicated in Fig. 3, will effect rotation of the gear 26 and winding of the spring 30. Rotation of the gear 38 will also be effected, in the direction of the arrow, but the gear 42 will not be rotated as the teeth 41 will ride over the teeth 45.

In order to regulate the unwinding speed of the mechanism, the member 46 is mounted intermediate its end on journal 47a for rocking movement about a vertical axis. The opposite ends of member 46 are bifurcated to form pawls 47 and 48 and fingers 49 and 50. The pawls 47 and 48 are arranged to engage between spaced pairs of teeth on the gear 42. The fingers 49 and 50 are adapted to receive therebetween a bar 51 which is suspended at its upper end by the pivot pin 52 which is mounted in the bracket 53. On the lower end of bar 51 is a weight 54. Under the force of spring 30, the gear 26 will rotate the gear 25, which in turn rotates the gear 38 in a direction such that the gear teeth 41 and 45 will lockingly engage with each other. The gear 42 will then rotate and move the pawls 47 and 48 away from the latter gear. The gravitational force of weight 54 will move member 46 so that pawls 47 and 48 will re-engage with the teeth of gear 42. This operation will be repeated until the spring 30 has dissipated its energy. It is seen that the mass of weight 54, that is, the inertia which must be overcome, controls the unwinding rate of speed of the gear 25, other things being equal.

Also mounted within the base 11 are a plurality of bells which are pivotally suspended by the bracket 61 and have a stem 62 projecting upwardly through the openings 19, for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

Mounted on the base 11, on the upper side of wall 17, is an annular channel or track 65, the track being arranged centrally about opening 18.

The pen 12, which may be of circular, octagonal, or other suitable configuration, is provided with a bottom wall or platform 70 spaced above the track 65 and having a central aperture 71 extending therethrough for surrounding the upper end of shaft'21. Secured on the underside of wall are a plurality of circularly disposed spaced wheels or rollers 71a which are rotatively mounted in brackets'72. The Wheels 71 are arranged to roll in the track.65 and thereby support the wall 70 for rotation about a vertical axis through opening 71.

'The bottom wall 70 is provided on its upper surface with a peripherally-extending parapet 75. It is appreciated that the parapet may be a solid wall fabricated of sheet metal, such as plastic, and be within the scope of the present invention. Thus the parapet 75 and the bottom wall 70 combine to form a play pen for a young child. Arranged above the pen 12 is a canopy 13 supported on a plurality of spaced uprights 76.

For actuating the carrousel a rod or handle 77 has one end pivotally connected to the upper end of shaft 21. The upper end of shaft 21 is bifurcated as at 73 and 79 to' receive the end therebetween of rod 77. A

sheath 80 is circumposed about the upper end of shaft the bar 77 from a horizontal to a vertical position. On the lower end of the sheath 80 are formed a plurality of teeth 83. 'A U-shaped bracket 84 having a central opening through its bight portion is secured to the underside of wall 70. The bracket 84 is arranged so that the shaft 21 extends through the opening in the bight portion of the bracket. Surrounding the opening are'a plurality of upwardly extending teeth 85 which are adapted for inter-locking engagement or coupling with the teeth 83 when the sheath 80 is moved downwardly. Thus, with the actuating bar 77 in its horizontal position, rotation of the bar will effect winding of the spring 30. The bar 77 is urged into its vertical position by the resilient member 86, in which position the spring 31? will unwind and transmit motion through shaft 21, the sheath 88 and bracket 84 to the wall 70.

In order to effect a series of melodious tones, a plurality of brackets 90 are secured to the underside of wall 70 and adapted to engage the stem 62 of the bell 60 upon rotation of the wall 70.

While various changes may be made in the detail description, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and'scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims:

What is claimed is:

1. In a carrousel, a base, said base being hollow, a platform on top of said base, a circular track on the top of said base and a plurality of spaced rollers on the bottom of said platform and adapted forrolling engagement in said track to rotatively mount said platform on said base, a peripheral parapet on said platform to form therewith a pen, a canopy over said platform and mounted on said parapet, a shaft rotatably mounted within'saidbase and extending upwardly through said platform,'a spur gear keyed to said shaft Within said base, a first pinion gear rotatably mounted within said base and in mesh with said spur gear, a spring operatively connected to said pinion gear for winding and unwinding upon rotative movement of said pinion in opposite directions, a substantially ver- 1 tical shaft rotatably mounted Within said hollow base, a spur gear slidably and rotatably mounted on said last mentioned shaft, said spur gear being in mesh with said first mentioned spur gear, the teeth of said second spur gear being substantially Wider than the teeth-of said first spur gear whereby to provide for continuous meshing engagement between said teeth whensaid second spur gear is shifted vertically, acollar extending downwardly and secured to said second spur gear and surrounding said shaft, said collar being provided with ratchet teeth at its lower end, a third spur gear rotatably mounted below said second spur gear, a neck extending upwardly from said third spur gear and having at its upper end ratchet teeth in mesh with said second spur gear ratchet teeth, a governor comprising a rockable member having one end oppositely connected to said third spur gear for oscillatory movement at a frequency proportional'to the rotational speed of said shaft and third spur gear, a mass engageable with the other end'of said rockable member and movable therewith, a sheath mounted on said first mentioned shaft for shifting movement toward and away from said platform, protections on said sheath and said platform for interlocking engagement with each other'when said sheath is moved towards said platform, a handle having one end connected to said shaft for swinging movement from a position transversely of said shaft to a position longitudinallythereof, said handle engaging said sheath for effecting the shifting movement of the latter upon swinging movement of said handle.

2. In a carrousel according to claim 1, a plurality of bells pivotally mounted within said hollow base and each having a stem projecting upwardly therefrom, and a plurality of depending arms on said platform and engageable with said stems whereby to provide a series of melodious tones upon rotative movement of said platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS nae 

